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(SMI) Support for Mortgage Interest ending

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  • erm
    erm Community member Posts: 63 Courageous
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    The sad thing is many who get PC solely for help towards housing may not get PC at all, so will lose maybe even more benefits, for such as free or part council tax dentist etc if I understand it correctly.
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  • sleepy1
    sleepy1 Community member Posts: 297 Pioneering
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    Well my opinion might not sit well with many but where I live there are so many people from abroad now that I sometimes wonder do I actually still live in the UK.  Don't get me wrong I am not racist and feel compassion for those that need to seek a better life.  Trouble is there is only so much money in the kitty to go around and from what I have read recently most of UK tax payers money has been spent providing housing, benefits and medical assistance for people from other countries.

    Meanwhile the people who were born here and paid all the tax are being forced out of their homes to make way for the newcomers in order to fill the pockets of greedy robing (insert own word) who have instigated it all.

    Just a tad annoying!
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  • Quackkers3
    Quackkers3 Community member Posts: 12 Courageous
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    My labour MP John Grogan was disgusted about this. I only get £78.44 4weekly SMI towards my mortgage and pay the remaining £213 out of my disability. I worked hard all my life paid taxes etc, lost my job aged 43 due to health and disability. Yet those who arenot ill and never had a job who are not looking after anyone in rented accommodation get almist 4 times as much.....yet I am being forced to take a loan with interest for the measly SMI. My house won't rise in value Im at bottom of housing market in a **** area. And cos on benefits cant even remortgage to a cheaper mortgage as they won't take all my benefits as income.it's disgusting what they are doing. I can't afford to pay the extra £78.45 to my mortgage as already struggling so have reluctantly completed forms for SMI loan. Then to top it all local council are stopping the council tax benefit I get for being severely disabled......waiting to find out how much they want a month. No idea how going to pay it either. 
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  • CockneyRebel
    CockneyRebel Community member Posts: 5,209 Disability Gamechanger
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    There seem to be two sides to this matter

    A ) On the one hand, why should the tax payer help you to buy your own home ? You have had the foresight and for what ever reason you have been prevented from continuing securing your future

    B ) On the other hand why should the tax payer subsidise the fat cat land lords that charge rent to those unfortunate enough not to be able to buy their own homes ?

    In example A this is likely to be far cheaper than equivalent rent for the same property. At the end their will be equity to pass on so that any offspring will have the opportunity to secure their future or funds available to help with latter life care

    in example B only the fat cat land lord wins

    This may be a very simplistic view and I am sure that many of you will have opinions to share

    CR
    Be all you can be, make  every day count. Namaste
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  • Quackkers3
    Quackkers3 Community member Posts: 12 Courageous
    edited February 2018
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    You assume everyone's house is worth more than their mortgage and that they have equity. You also assume everyone has offspring to pass on this apparent equity. I don't technically own the house really the bank does. I just think there should be a fairer system, like perhaps a fair housing allowance . We all have to live somewhere. 
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  • CockneyRebel
    CockneyRebel Community member Posts: 5,209 Disability Gamechanger
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    Hi Quackkers

    I do understand. If a person has invested in their own property for 10 - 15 years  the cheapeat option is going to be to support them until the mortgage matures. It is far simpler to support an owner occupier with adaptations.
    As owner occupiers we do have life style choices.
    Are clean windows a priority ?
    Is a well manicured garden a priority ?
    Do we need someone to put up a shelf or could a free standing unit be an option ?

    CR
    Be all you can be, make  every day count. Namaste
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  • sleepy1
    sleepy1 Community member Posts: 297 Pioneering
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    Below is a link for 106 page government plan to "fix the broken housing market"

    Page 20
    ""• Helping the most vulnerable who need support with their housing, developing a sustainable and workable approach to funding supported housing in the future; and • Doing more to prevent homelessness by supporting households at risk before they reach crisis point as well as reducing rough sleeping.""

    Yeah well stopping mortgage support and other benefits for disabled people somehow does not appear to align with that statement! 
    Don't forget folks the SMI loan will only be paid while your receiving other benefits and they seem to be on a mission to make sure the most vulnerable get naff all.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/590464/Fixing_our_broken_housing_market_-_print_ready_version.pdf
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  • nanof6
    nanof6 Community member Posts: 200 Pioneering
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    if you sign your house to them they are going to charge interest on the interest 

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  • SN27
    SN27 Community member Posts: 3 Listener
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     Hello again, I know it sounds like a cliche and a futile action but I cannot stress enough that we should all be sending our stories and protest to the MPs. There is ambivalence out there..this issue is under the radar. No one cares about our gripes...we have to send out the message. This nightmare of a government is to blame for the change to SMI. 10% of people in this country have 1/2 of all the wealth, can this be just? Millionaire tax evaders that should be fairly contributing to the system employ clever accountants to diminish tax bills. Why are they not targetted first? I was a high paid full tax paying individual fallen victim to circumstance, I don't want hand outs...but I do want to live in a just, compassionate and fair society. This dire government are to blame now. Everyone knows about this travesty of inequality but it goes on. This attack on the disadvantaged is yet another demonstration that the tories don't care. SMI was discussed on Daily Politics today....with apathy (perhaps with some empathy from the Mayor of Bristol) but in a nutshell no-one is bothered. More voices are needed. Write to your MP or contact your local media. x

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  • sleepy1
    sleepy1 Community member Posts: 297 Pioneering
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    Good morning everyone, thought I would post this article that I came across online that was in the Guardian recently. 
    Some very mixed reviews from readers, many people are assuming that we get the whole of our mortgage paid for and as we know that is certainly not the case.  They are also unaware of all the shenanigans that goes on to stop people receiving any benefit at all, in which case the loan payments wont be made, arrears and interest will soon rack up and it wont be long before many vulnerable people are made homeless.

    When that happens MP's and the media might just start to take notice?

    https://www.theguardian.com/money/2018/feb/19/support-for-mortgage-interest-change-state-loan
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  • nanof6
    nanof6 Community member Posts: 200 Pioneering
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    i also saw on daily politics the tory mp forgot to say we will be paying interest on the intrest, he made it sound so kind of them to help us out, they are so sly, when have they ever been nice and careing, don't trust them, i wont be signing my house to them for £12,40 a week, i would rather starve.
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  • erm
    erm Community member Posts: 63 Courageous
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    nanof6, I told them on the phone I would rather owe my sons the money than .Gov get their mits on the house we all did and do without to afford then we could pick where we lived and not be in migrant city town village hell holes. Our government then while caring for those who have never worked for this country or even where born here they send letters to pensioner homeowners saying if you need care you will have to pay for it by selling your home.. NO WAY will we allow that to happen.  
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  • sleepy1
    sleepy1 Community member Posts: 297 Pioneering
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    Good afternoon guys, the most annoying thing I find about this is that lots of property in the UK is being bought by non UK residents because the £ has been devalued so much it is a win win situation for them.  The government also seem to be quite happy to spend huge amounts of tax payers money to pay them rent/housing benefit for the privilege.
    Most of these property owners are unlikely to have paid any tax nor ever will, or contribute anything to our economy.  Oh what a good idea steal from the poor, sick and elderly British people and give it to some big fat cat in another country so they can be ready to swoop in and take what little we have left.

    Not sure if this could work legally (its just a thought) if you were to sign your property over to family and they then rented it back to you, would you then be entitled to claim housing benefit?


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  • sheridan111
    sheridan111 Community member Posts: 3 Listener
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    Been reading some of the posts re the SMI help stopping.

    In the same boat with that and just don' know who to contact for advice and what to do.

    I have a 2 year old daughter and am a single parent.

    Like many invested a lot in my property. It appears as though at the end of my mortgage term which is a few years away yet  I will have to leave my home. I won't be able to pay off the capital and now with the dwp interest payments stopping any chance of being able to do so will be stopped from happening.  As many it appears as though I will be loosing all that I've worked for and struggled to have.

    Will there ever be chance of getting to have your own home if on disability benefits? I was planning to be aiming to be back in work again by the time my daughter was at school but due to my disabilities it would only ever be able to be part time and thus always having that benefit connection.

    I have not signed the dwp loan yet but will have to as not going to have other choice it appears.

    Could talk further with someone and explain more re the situation if there is any agencies or anyone that can help.

    Any advice anyone??

    Sheridan
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  • Geoark
    Geoark Community member Posts: 1,464 Disability Gamechanger
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    sleepy1 said:
    Good afternoon guys, the most annoying thing I find about this is that lots of property in the UK is being bought by non UK residents because the £ has been devalued so much it is a win win situation for them.  The government also seem to be quite happy to spend huge amounts of tax payers money to pay them rent/housing benefit for the privilege.
    Most of these property owners are unlikely to have paid any tax nor ever will, or contribute anything to our economy.  Oh what a good idea steal from the poor, sick and elderly British people and give it to some big fat cat in another country so they can be ready to swoop in and take what little we have left.

    Not sure if this could work legally (its just a thought) if you were to sign your property over to family and they then rented it back to you, would you then be entitled to claim housing benefit?


    Hi @sleepy1,

    Most of the properties owned by oversea investors are not supported by government by huge amounts of housing benefits. Most of these properties would be out of the reach for those on benefits and with rents well above the Local Housing Allowance, usually set at the bottom 30 percentile of the local market and in some cases even lower. 

    Yes they do pay taxes. Both on the rental income and when they sell. When considering some of the rents being charged is a lot more than most people earn in a month, for a single property, probably a lot more than most people. Plus most will not have personal tax allowances and so will pay taxes on the full amount.

    In some ways they are the ultimate net contributers, paying in but taking very little if anything out. While the argument can be made that they are taking the money from rents those who rent these properties contribute to the local and national economy.

    With the question at the end of your post I don't know the definitive answer but in all probability no, mainly because you have disposed of a large assett in order to maximise the amount of money you can claim on benefits. But as I said I don't know this for fact.

    Personally I think this move is a huge mistake considering the paltry amount they will save.

    As an individual I stood alone.
    As a member of a group I did things.
    As part of a community I helped to create change!

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  • sleepy1
    sleepy1 Community member Posts: 297 Pioneering
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    Hi @sheridan111 and welcome to the Scope community.
    This SMI loan situation is very worrying especially for those who are unable to work through no fault of their own and relied on that little bit of support.  Having a young child to look after on your own at the same time is an even bigger challenge but I guess she gives you much more reason to cope and strive to hold onto the things you have already struggled for.

    I have posted a couple of links that I hope will either help or direct you to others that can.

    http://www.aworkingmum.co.uk/single-working-parent-benefits-entitlements.html

    https://www.netmums.com/life/single-parent-benefits

    https://www.gingerbread.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Housing-options-for-single-parents.pdf

    What work did you do previously, I believe there is some support from certain professions that can help with grants that are funded from people within their own industry.  So may be worth checking out.

    Love and best wishes X Rosie

     
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  • sheridan111
    sheridan111 Community member Posts: 3 Listener
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    Thank you Rosie for your lovely reply. Me being someone who doesn' have a sole to talk to about this situation was very nice to get even a reply.
    I believe I have all the benefits I'm currently entitled to. Think it more just what the tech with the house and as other things come into it. Mind boggling!! 
    Do appreciate your links too.

    I did used to work in human resources but due to health am not going to be able to but am currently going to college to retrain in beauty therapy in aim to work hours for myself managing around my own disabilities, hopefully to coincide with when my daughter goes to school.

    I hadn' mentioned my home is in need of some renovation too, e.g in part of my house snow is blowing in today.

    With a bit of work done could have been some money in the property, but now if any would go straight to dwp rather than be able to put down on a cheaper home.  Bit stuck. I will look at the links as just a bit lost with it all.

    Thanks for your comment
     
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  • sleepy1
    sleepy1 Community member Posts: 297 Pioneering
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    @Geoark thanks for your reply
    I think you may have missinterpreted some of the things I said, but as much as I try I really do struggle sometimes trying to find the right words to express what I want to say.  My fault not yours and it is good to know we at least agree that this loan idea is a huge mistake.

    There are no real statistics that I have seen that show what percentage of non UK residents actually own property here, to get that information you would have to pay the land registry a fee for each and every property to find out and I suspect even if you did that there would be so many complications involving different companies and subsidiary's as to who owned what!  Many people in the area where I live are paying rent (from housing benefit) to landlords who live abroad.
    Can you tell me how our government claim the tax on that income?  Just like they don't bother to recoup the HUGE drain on our NHS from health tourists?

    My question at the end of that post was rhetorical, not about how to maximize my benefits at all, but mainly to point out why should someone from another country who has paid no taxes be able to reap rewards from the property I worked dam  hard for to give to my children.  If the government would rather spend more money paying rent to landlords than help British people pass on a bit of equity to their kids to buy a property (Stan Laurel head scratch) then they may as well just hand all of the keys over to the Qatari family (who own most of London...Fact) now and let them get on with it.




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  • sleepy1
    sleepy1 Community member Posts: 297 Pioneering
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    Hi @sheridan111
    I tried to send you a message earlier but for some reason it did not send so others may have tried to reply. Maybe the snow is a problem atm, (int connections)  I only found this site a few months ago and very glad I did there is such a wealth of information and some wonderful people that will try their very best to help,

    Started renovating my place a few years ago but not been able to do much since......too busy being ill.  Think there are some charities who can help with doing a few odd jobs, you would need to see what is available where you live.

    Hugs speak later, med's 



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  • Geoark
    Geoark Community member Posts: 1,464 Disability Gamechanger
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    Hi @sleepy1

    The best potential source of an answer I have found is at https://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/17/international-landlords-uk-property-market.html

    5% of housing market, down from 12% seven years ago. some areas will be much higher and some lower. It also goes into some of the taxation involved. 

    With regards to paying taxes, if the tenant is on housing benefit the HMRC have access to this data, along with who the owner is through the land registry. Landlords also have a legal responsibility to put deposits into a registered deposit protection scheme for tenants which again the HMRC has access to. If they use an estate agent to look after their property the taxes are automatically taken before passing on any profit onto the landlord. 

    As in any system there will be some scope to cheat the taxman, but penalties can be high.

    'Qatari family (who own most of London...Fact)'

    Actually no it isn't! 

    You asked a question which I answered to the best of my ability without any judgement towards you personally.

    But  to be honest as you are basing your posts on what you feel are facts regardless of the truth I see no point in carrying on this particular conversation with you.

    As an individual I stood alone.
    As a member of a group I did things.
    As part of a community I helped to create change!

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